Halloween Night - Before and After

I think a good time was had by all.  They each must have 10 lbs of candy.  They were hyper before we even left the house.

Before:

 All 3 of them told me "but Dad said we weren't to go in the graveyard" - I guess mom over ruled.

And after:

It was funny all the neighbors that commented on the "new stuff" from last year.  I think Matthew has a bit of a following at this point.  He might have to come up with something to add next year, too.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Anticipation

Waiting for Halloween. 

Matthew and Jacob are at the church right now for a Den meeting for Boy Scouts.  When they get back they plan on going back over to Grandma and Papa Jack's to keep working on the Halloween decorations.  Layne has made plans for Divya to come over and help them out, too.

It is a beautiful day here.  Blue skies and sunny.  Although it is still on the cold side.  But that just adds to the fun of fall for me.

Joshua is doing much better in school with his behavior right now.  He has stayed on Green for over a week. I let him pick out a new car / truck from Target this week.  He was very thoughtful on getting just the right truck - and very grateful for the treat.  I will meet with his EIP teacher, Mrs. Tepper, next week Friday morning.  Hopefully Matthew will be able to attend also.  His formal neuropsychological testing will take place December 15, 2011.  We will tell Joshua when it gets closer to the date.

Layne is still doing well in school and able to keep track of herself and her assignments.  The only thing she has missed was reading another book this month for the "2 books a month" list they have to track.  These 2 books are outside of the book reports each month.  Each book must also be an AR test and they must take the AR test in order to also "prove" they have read the book.  She was up late on Thursday trying to finish a book in order to take her test.  But - other than that - she seems to be keeping up all on her own.

Jacob of course, has slid again into the "I hate it school, it's stupid" and the oh-so-fun "kids should have rights, why don't kids have any rights?".  Matthew just laughs at that arguments. We set up a deal for him to get all As this past grading period, and of course, he got a B in math.  His teachers are convinced that he would easily have an A if he thought about his answers a little more.  He still tends to make easy mistakes that seem to be lack of attention.  So I am not ready to give him a break yet in math.  He is unhappy that he did not earn his reward and has told me that I am "kind of mean".

Here is Layne at a recent soccer game - knees locked, standing there, and it looks like she is yelling and telling everyone else what to do - hmmmm.....

Here is Joshua showing off the Monster Box he made at Lowe's a couple weekends ago - he loves taking those classes -

Here is Jacob multi-tasking - reading a book and playing monopoly - if only he could apply these skills to his school work......

We are going to go to Briers North tonight after dark.  They are a victorian neighborhood in Dunwoody that has everyone in the neighborhood decorate their houses.  I can't even begin to describe the decorations.  Maybe we will get some pictures - but it is so hard after dark.  We shall see.

We are so excited and happy that Grandmom is home!  I talked to her Friday night and she sounds wonderful. 

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Matthew, Layne, and Joshua worked this afternoon on getting the scene set for Halloween at Grandma and Papa Jack's.  I think Papa Jack had as much fun as anyone getting ready.

Jacob spent last night with Conner for his birthday at Conner's dad's house.  Sounds like they had a good time.  Jacob said they had a pillow fight "to the death" - but both he and Jacob are still alive and Matthew has been telling Jacob he didn't play the game right.

Started out the day in a freezing cold soccer game.  It wouldn't have been so bad except for the winds.  It was 45 degrees out and very windy - even in the sun.  They didn't win.  And it is the 1st game in 5 games that Layne did not make a goal.  She had a goal assist and almost a goal - but wasn't able to pull it off today.  They lost 7 to 1 - so it was pretty painful all the way around.

Here are pictures of the graveyard so far (courtesy of Grandma):

Whoa - when did winter come?

Okay - this is when it annoys me in Atlanta.  Yesterday it was 85 degrees and today's high was 53 degrees.  It is supposed to be down to 40 degrees tonight.  Brrrrrr. The cold front had definitely come through. 

And the hospital is full.  That is how I really know the weather is changing.

We went to Shane's Rib Shack tonight for dinner.  It was Ocee Elementary's Kindergarten night.  Which means all the kindergarten teachers help serve the dinners and they do a contest for the class with the most participation they get a prize. 

Joshua is still our social connection.  He know so many kids already.  He was bouncing around from table to table.  I got to meet Liam, who he talks about quite a bit.

Matthew took the kids to church after dinner and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things.

Jacob's medical alert id bracelet came today.  He seems really excited about having a bracelet that he MUST wear all the time.  Wish it was always that easy to please.

I made each of the kids pose for a picture, this is what I got:

Jacob with the 2 books he is reading at once.

Layne with her soccer sweatshirt that she wears all the time that was a hand-me-down from Zackary.

Joshua with his UK clothing - Go Big Blue!!!!!

I still can't believe this Michigan girl has been sooooo cold today and it was only 53 degrees.  I think I might have acclimated. 

Home from Kentucky

Oh, yeah - and Home from Knoxville, too.

Drove up Saturday after Layne's soccer game (she made a penalty kick!!!! whoo hoo) to Knoxville.  Got there late and only had a few minutes to hear about the Sardonia trip to Disney World.

Got up Sunday and drove up to Louisville for a long awaited visit with Grandmom (oh, yeah, and Grandfather was there, too).  It was a great visit!

We stayed about 3 hours, got to see Grandmom's room, and the gym where she does therapy, and we got some play time in a family lounge on the 8th floor. 

We ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner.  The kids really scarfed down the food and want to go back again.  I think that means they liked the restaurant.   This is one of the many horses around town near the restaurant.  This is Horseapalooza.

Then Joshua asked to go across one of the bridges into Indiana on our way out of Louisville.  We obliged, and it took a very long time to get back across in to Kentucky.

Got to Melanie's again about 11:30 p.m. and went to bed.

Got up today and came home.  Lots of time in the car (the car is a mess) but TOTALLY worth it for time with Grandmom and Grandfather.  The kids are planning our next trip back already.

Layne's on Fire

She made another goal today.  She controlled the ball dribbling down the field.  She did awesome.   We still lost  - 3 to 1 - and some of the girls were very upset.   Especially our goalie - it was sad to dsee because they played a really good game.

Will try and post pictures later.

I have kids calling me to come upstairs.